Per una volta cercherò di essere brevissimo.

Il mio terzo Hesse conferma quello che penso di questo autore, ovvero il suo non essere all'altezza di altri scrittori (Mann, Camus, Sartre, giusto per citarne qualcuno cronologicamente vicino) nel proporci romanzi in cui letteratura e filosofia dovrebbero proseguire di pari passo. Le idee di Hesse possono pur essere interessanti e i suoi libri, come questo "Narciso e Boccadoro", avvincenti e incalzanti, ma è la struttura dei suoi romanzi che non regge minimamente il peso della sua filosofia. Ne escono dei libricini, perdonatemi il diminutivo, in cui sembra di essere alle prese con dei racconti scialbi e di cui si capisce dove l'autore vuole andare a parare già dalle prime pagine. Mi direte che anche "Lo straniero" di Camus è così, e che similmente è per "La nausea" di Sartre, o per "La montagna incantata" di Mann. Può essere, ma il peso di questi ultimi tre volumi, sul piano strettamente letterario, è decisamente superiore a questo "Narciso e Boccadoro", e non di poco.

L'idea di Hesse di proporci il confronto fra due personaggi tanto differenti ma legati da una salda amicizia è un modello ampiamente utilizzato in letteratura, e farne il perno della sua filosofia una scelta troppo semplice. Se volessimo poi spogliare del lato prettamente filosofico questo libro, ci rimarrebbe poco più che l'avventura di un "libertino" che non fa altro che correr dietro alle donne. Più di metà libro si basa infatti su questo, ruotando incessantemente sulla figura di Boccadoro e del suo girovagare in cerca di compagnia per una notte. Rimane in ombra la figura, molto più interessante dal mio punto di vista, di Narciso, questo abate erudito che cresce al chiuso di un convento e vede dunque la sua vita non completamente compiuta. La filosofia di Hesse si basa sulla contrapposizione di questi due personaggi, e per "giustificare" questa filosofia fa compiere di tutto e di più a Boccadoro, fino ad un finale in cui fra pentimenti, ramanzine, sogni mai raggiunti e le difficoltà di una vita nella continua ricerca di sé Hesse ci fa la morale sui due modi di vita dei protagonisti. Di 400 pagine ne potremmo salvare un centinaio, praticamente l'inizio e la fine di questo libro: per il resto si tratta di un'inutile rimarcare l'essenza di personaggi già ben definiti in poche righe.

Eh, direte voi, a questo tipo gli hanno anche dato il nobel, magari sei tu che non capisci niente di letteratura. Può essere.

Some books speak to you; this one dialogues with me. There are books that "move" you; this one upsets me. Hermann Hesse evokes poetry, elegance, realism, the difficulty of being human, and living the contrary aspirations attached to our essence.
The author has chosen to dissociate in this novel the two significant male inclinations, on the one hand, the aspiration towards the intellect and the religious, order and the scientist, meditation, and prayer, and on the other, the enjoyment of life in all its animality, in a hymn to death and life, to love and sadness, to beauty and ignominy, personifying them in two antithetical but complementary. Goldmund will transcend his sensual nature by investing it in art, which he then takes on a sacred character.
However, "Narcissus and Goldmund" is also a fable about the duality of the human being, in which the two characters represent the opposing forces of the same psyche. Between their appetites, aspirations, necessities, and the outside world's demands, humans have made choices and, in doing so, give up to amputate part of what they are. But Hesse brings us a solution to this endless dilemma: one can, at best, only become what one is, and it is by transcending the experience of the senses that one reaches spirituality. In this sense, it joins Carl Gustav Jung's conceptualization of the sacred, of which Hesse was the friend and the patient (moreover, "Narcissus and Goldmund" presents throughout the work the most magnificent evocation of the Anima that I had given a chance to read).
In my opinion, "Narcissus and Goldmund" is a masterpiece, more successful than, for example, "Siddharta" (which seemed to me more suitable, less surprising, in its treatment) or the "Glass Bead Game," whose Master appears to me too intellectual, not human enough… This book has an idea of reconciliation and peace that I have never found elsewhere in this author.
It is, for me, a work both major and masterful, which I place without hesitation at the top of the pantheon of books that have marked me the most.

This is not a review. This is an expression of gratitude.

Enlightened does not begin to describe the feeling one gets when eyes see, mind is set in motion, and images are processed into thoughts that seed the way we look at everything. We SEE everything in a new light, at least for as long as we remember what is important, what makes a difference. The beginning of our true life. I suppose all we can ask of our mind is for a few moments of enlightenment at a time. And, to remember. Too much would be overkill, too little starvation. Let us be comforted with whatever ration of enlightenment we are allowed. Let us not forget that we are allowed these moments, we are not entitled them.

Herr Hesse, with your beautiful words, you allowed me to imagine enlightenment, to see, to take nothing for granted.

Este, que parece ser el libro de los polos opuestos, habla más bien de magnetismo. Siempre, en forma de amor, de admiración, de nostalgia, están unidos Narciso y Goldmundo.

Cada uno de ellos representa las imágenes versus los conceptos. El espíritu frente a los sentidos. El arte contra el conocimiento, y en últimas, en cada uno de esos extremos coinciden sus búsquedas, sus ideas de plenitud. No hay uno bueno y otro malo, hay dos humanidades consagradas a resolver a su manera preguntas fundamentales.

Un libro que como pocos consigue ser a la vez profundo y divertido.

At the time of reading, this was my favorite Hesse book and, indeed, it is probably his quintessential novel, the one to recommend for anyone wanting to check him out. I have given away copies of it for this purpose to several persons over the years.

Contrary to the description in Wikipedia, I read the novel from the perspective of Goldmund being lost and then found. Seduced by the snares of the world, he leaves the peace of the monastic life for a life of trial and error, ultimately, as an old man, returning to where he began. Since in his case experience led to wisdom, Goldmund represented to me the via positiva, the path to enlightenment which leads through lovingly appropriated experience, while Narcissus, remaining behind in the monastery, represented the via negativa, the path to enlightenment obtained by critical thinking and contemplative withdrawal. This, the essential identity behind two ostensibly very different paths along life's way, reminded me also of the two main schools of Buddhism, the big and little boats, Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism. One is also reminded of the same distinction when the lives of Christian saints as different at Francis of Assisi and Simeon of the Desert are sympathetically compared. There is truth to it.

This is not to say that the reference made by the Wikipedia writer to Nietzsche's Apollonian and Dionysian is incorrect. Given the intellectual influences obtaining in Hesse's circles and the nature of his missionary family it is likely that both were considered. My own reading was influenced by having studied mysticism by this time and not yet having read Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy.

What I really like about Hermann Hesse, here and elsewhere, is that he really cared, cared about people, cared about culture and cared about the natural world. Most everything he wrote, from his novels and short stories to his political essays, attempts to be constructive, to share something of what he had learned of importance with others. He wrote to the better side of our natures, both emotional and intellectual. I am so glad that young people are still reading him despite the many years which have passed since his last great work, The Glass Bead Game, in 1943.

Hồi ký của nam thanh niên đi phượt mấy chục năm bằng vốn tự có =)))) Các em gái bây giờ tuổi gì =)))
Đọc đến cuốn thứ 6 của Hesse thì nhận thấy rằng Hesse không viết truyện. Ông chỉ mượn các nhân vật để viết đi viết lại cùng một băn khoăn là hai mặt đối lập nhưng không thể tách rời của đạo đức và trụy lạc. Hai nhân vật trong Đôi bạn chân tình xét ra đều là một người. Cuốn này đánh 4* vì trước đó đã đọc nhiều quan điểm này của ông và có một cuốn sốc hơn là Demian. Tuy nhiên, quả thật, chưa bao giờ Hesse đi xa về mặt trụy lạc tới vậy. Khá bất ngờ. Kiểu bung xả. Ngoài ra, cái kết cũng rõ ràng hơn. Nhưng vẫn đang chờ cuốn cuối cùng của ông được dịch để xem Hesse đã giải quyết vấn đề này ở cuối đời như thế nào. Tóm lại ai đọc Demian rồi sẽ thấy hai cuốn này gần như 2 phiên bản của cùng một thuyết, đặc biệt bị ảnh hưởng bởi Carl Jung.
Dù sao, vẫn quá yêu Hesse. Đọc cuốn này cũng vừa vào thời điểm tôi trở về như Goldmund về tu viện. Nhưng có lẽ sẽ buộc phải đi? Nhưng liệu có viên mãn như Goldmund với một cái chết thanh thản sau một đời trác táng?

این کتاب رو به لاکپشت وارترین شکل ممکن خوندم چون اصلا دلم نمی خواست تموم بشه ، اما افسوس که هر شروعی بالاخره پایانی هم به همراه داره

کتاب "نارتسیس و گلدموند" شاهکار دیگری هست از "هسه" که مانند بسیاری از آثار او، ساختاری دو قطبی دارد... یکی قطب مادرانه و مادینه که به جنبه های فلسفی از قبیل عشق ،هنر و لذت می پردازد و دیگری قطب پدرانه یا نرینه که جنبه های تفکر و منطق را در بر می گیرد
این نویسنده ی خوش ذوق و هنرمند این بار معجونی گوارا پدید آورده که در آن از تمامی عناصر شخصیت پردازی، توصیفات و تشبیهات ، آرایه ها و کنایه ها به غایت بهره برده و می تواند سیراب کننده ی عطش اشتیاق هر خواننده ای باشد

نوشتن ریویوی کامل در باب این کتاب رو به بعد موکول می کنم ، فقط چند توصیه برای دوستانی دارم که مایل به مطالعه ی این کتاب هستند

اول اینکه از این کتاب دو نسخه با ترجمه ی بسیار خوب سروش حبیبی وجود داره ، یکی نسخه ای که اخیرا" و از طرف نشر چشمه چاپ شده و دیگری نسخه ای که در سال 1350 چاپ شده
من نسخه ی قدیمی تر رو ترجیح دادم. این نسخه ، کامل و بدون ساسنسور بود(با نسخه ی انگلیسی چک کردم) ، بعد اینکه در نسخه ی نشر چشمه شیوه ی نگارش کتاب به قدری نامفهوم و سخت خوان بود که من نه تنها هیچ لذتی از مطالعه ی کتاب نبردم بلکه درهر صفحه حداقل دو یا سه کلمه ی جدید وجود داشت که اصلا در زبان فارسی به گوش من نخورده بود چه برسه به اینکه معنی این کلمه ها رو بدونم
:))
با این حال اگر باز هم نسخه ی نشر چشمه را انتخاب کردید یادتون باشه که مقدمه ی کتاب رو بزارید آخر بخونید چون همه ی داستان از ابتدا تا انتها به طور خلاصه در مقدمه توضیح داده شده که از نظر من چندان خوشایند نبود

در آخر اینکه می تونید نسخه ی پی دی اف و بدون سانسور این کتاب رو با نام "نرگس و زرین دهن" در اینترنت پیدا کنید

Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

http://www.hessemontagnola.ch/ (site da Fundação Herman Hesse Montagnola)

Hermann Hesse nasceu em 1877 na Alemanha, naturalizou-se em 1923 suiço e faleceu em 1962 em Montagnola, Suiça. Em 1946 recebe o Prémio Nobel da Literatura ”por seus escritos inspirados que, enquanto crescem em audácia e penetração, exemplificam os ideais humanitários e as altas qualidades de estilo.”.

"Narciso era moreno e seco, enquanto Goldmund se mostrava brilhante e pródigo. Enquanto Narciso era um pensador e analítico, Goldmund parecia ser um sonhador com uma alma infantil. Mas, apesar de todos os antagonismos, ligava-os um traço comum: ambos eram seres distintos, diferenciando-se dos outros por percetíveis talentos e atributos, e ambos tinham recebido do destino uma especial premonição.
Narciso interessava-se ardentemente por aquela alma juvenil, cujo carácter e o destino ele rapidamente reconhecera. Também Goldmund admirava com todo o fervor aquele seu mestre, sempre belo, superior e inteligente.” (Pág. 22)
É facilmente entendível que Hermann Hesse contando a história ou as histórias das suas duas personagens – Narciso e Goldmund, - pretende analisar e ponderar sobre incontáveis temáticas e inúmeros conteúdos, meditando sobre aspectos profundos e filosóficos da vida humana.
Com a génese do romance a estruturar-se e a fundamentar-se em combinações dicotómicas – recorrendo aos dois estilos de vida de Narciso e Goldmund – que numa primeira fase são coincidentes, convergindo nos princípios, nas convicções e nas acções -; mas que gradualmente seguem caminhos opostos, vivendo ideais de vida drasticamente discrepantes, dissonantes sobre como a vida deve ser vivida. Por um lado, existe uma vida espiritual e piedosa, assente na religiosidade e na fé, com a devoção e o fervor sagrado a dominarem; por outro lado, deparamos com um estilo de vida assente na aventura, na coragem e na imprevisibilidade, associando-se ao prazer físico, ao erotismo e ao amor, mas, igualmente, ao adultério e à infidelidade; e a uma ilimitada vida artística.
"Narciso e Goldmund” (1930) é um magnífico romance que gravita em torno da descoberta individual mútua, da luta e da conciliação entre dois estilos de vida antagónico - numa história que se desenrola na Idade Média, mas que permanece intemporal -; onde se vão confrontando paradoxos insondáveis, numa abordagem e distanciamento gradual que caracterizam a componente mais íntima da existência humana – em primeiro plano, o amor; em segundo plano, a arte.


O Amor

”O seu juvenil desejo de amar tinha acabado de ser poderosamente despertado pela imagem e pelo beijo de uma rapariga bonita. Simultaneamente, a consciência do próprio desejo assustara-o e lançara-o no desespero, pois sentia no mais íntimo de si que todos os sonhos e projetos de vida que até aí acalentara, tudo aquilo para que se julgara chamado e destinado, tudo isso ameaçava agora ruir, depois daquele beijo à janela, perante o olhar daqueles olhos escuros.” (Pág. 35)

A Arte

"Goldmund não pertencia àquele tipo de artistas insatisfeitos, que, muito embora possuindo notáveis talentos, nunca conseguem encontrar os meios adequados para os expressar. Há pessoas assim, capazes de sentir a beleza do mundo com profundidade e grandeza e de transportar na alma imagens elevadas e nobres, mas que não encontram o caminho e os meios para delas se libertarem, transmitindo-as e comunicando-as para satisfação dos outros. Goldmund não sofria dessa carência." (Pág. 181 - 182)

”Goldmund sentia que através da arte e da vida de artista tinha a possibilidade de conciliar os seus profundos antagonismos, ou pelo menos de criar magníficas e sempre novas metáforas sobre a ambivalência da sua natureza. Mas a arte não era pura dádiva, não era de modo nenhum gratuita, ela tinha um preço elevado e exigia-lhe sacrifícios constantes. Durante mais de três anos sacrificara-lhe já o mais supremo e imprescindível bem que conhecia, para além do êxtase amoroso; a sua liberdade.” (Pág. 194)


Aguarelas de Hermann Hesse (in Fondazione Hermann Hesse Montagnola)


Montagnola, 1929



Bei Montagnola, 1929



Blick auf Magliaso und Ponte Tresa, 1928



Monte Boglia in Schnee, 1933

"يمكن للمتعة والألم أن يكونا متشابهين كأختين "

من اجمل الروايات اللي قرأتها السنة دي؛ صديقان مقربان رغم بعد المسافات يعرضان حالة مختلفة من القرب الروحاني، كل منهما يمثل مذهب فكري مختلف الروح والمادة الفكر والفن الايمان والكفر ، كل منهما يسعي لمعرفة ذاته الحقيقة، للراحة، لمنطقة الأمان النهائية بطريقته الخاصة، لكن هل يكفي أن نحيا بنمط واحد الحياة باكملها؟ هل نستطيع بلوغ نهاية الدرب باتخاذ الطريق المستقيم دائما؟ نرسيس وغولدموند هما رؤية واحدة للحياة ولكنها منقسمة، كصورة قُطعت لجزئين لا يمكن رؤيتها كاملة سوي بإعادة لصقهما معا مرة أخري.

When I was a child my parents used to punish me for my bad actions in their own way: I often had the prohibition of reading for a week.
Of course I wasn't so nerd at that time and together with reading there could be no tv, no bmx rides with friends, no late night awake and all sorts of "normal" don'ts.
But the worst one was definitely the "no reading week".

Later in my teenage years, I remember how my mum was very glad about my reading activity, but not particularly interested in influencing that favourite pastime of mine with her tips. As far as I remember the only exception was "Narcissus and Goldmund".

"Mum, I read "Candide". How nice it was!"
"Good for you. But you should rather read Narcissus and Goldmund".

"Mum, "The Buddenbrooks" is very interesting. What a surprise!"
"Very well. Yet, you would appreciate more "Narcissus and Goldmund".

"Mum, I have to admit it: "Rosshalde" is kind of interesting".
"Yes. But that's nothing compared to "Narcissus and Goldmund": you might read it!".

"Mum, this "Elective affinities" is a masterpiece of romanticism".
"I know, but why don't you read "Narcissus and Goldmund?" You must do it!"

Ok, I resisted for many years. When I was younger I never liked when people were forcing me to read anything. At school, in family.
Then came my late twenties and I finally capitulated: I took "Narcissus and Goldmund" in my hands.
Albeit the awful, terrifying front cover graphic chosen by the Italian editor (think about the name "Hesse" wrote in the same style, way and colours of the notorious "Esso" logo on a grey background...) I decided to leaf through the book pages.

I was really surprised. After managing to win over the first "philosophical" part of the novel, that I found a bit too slow, I discovered a surprisingly libertine book. Not that bad, of course, but exactly the opposite I would have expected as a tip from my mum.

Eventually "Narcissus and Goldmund" was an involving reading. Although I think that sometimes Hesse stumbles on the thin line between allegory and parody, this book worths a reading. I like the historical-yet-undetermined contest of the book even if the Goldmund character doesn't look that realistic to me. The way Goldmund walks around the world is very "Candidesque" and picaresque and I do like this sort of mood.

At the same time, Herman Hesse is more accurate and, in my opinion, does a better job in picturing Narcissus, who at least behaves as a man in his adulthood rather than a whimsical, naive boy as Goldmund stays for the whole book without having a real evolution despite all the life (and sexual) experiences he had. I know this won't be appreciated by those who consider this book formative, but the same comeback of Goldmund to the monastery where he spent his earlier pious years looks more like a defeat than as an inner development of him.

Now I just wonder if my mum wished to make a Narcissus or a Goldmund out of me. Frankly I'm a bit scared to ask her.

Can I just say that I absolutely love Hermann Hesse. For me his words speak directly to my soul. I have never exclusively followed an author except Hesse. He is absolutely brilliant and his works are so nuanced to the point where they only mean anything to the reader unless they can relate in some profound way. I have now finished all of his major works and I must say "bravo".

All of his books are about the turmoil and duality of the human soul. He speaks my language. My next goal is to learn German so I can read his books again in his native tongue.

Goldmund and Narcissus is about that duality except in the form of two separate characters. One is a thinker the other a feeler, one values rationality and reason and the other values intuition. One lives in the world of abstract ideas and the other in the world of sensuality and the senses. One lives the life of a duty bound priest the other an Artist. Neither is held in higher regard over the other. Both struggle to find the meaning of their nature.

I especially enjoyed the part where Narcissus talks about when someone who is meant to be an artist tries to live the life of a thinker evil ensues. There is danger in trying to force themselves into that false role. He calls the artist-thinker a mystic. Thinkers and artists alike have their place in the world and neither should think they are superior to the other for they are antithesis of each other.

عن ثنائية العقل و الروح
المادة و الفكر.
عن إنعزال في الدير أو غوص في غمار الحياة
عن كل الأضداد و الثنائيات
n  n
تحدث هسه بالأسلوب مزج بين سلاسة السرد و عمق الفكرة.
أخيرا رواية نجحت في مزج بين الاستمتاع و الفكر.
رائعة .
أكملتها رابعة صباحا